ACLU: U.S. blocking payments to Guantanamo attorneys

Carol Rosenberg
Miami Herald
Wednesday, July 9, 2008

GUANTANAMO BAY NAVY BASE, Cuba — The U.S. government is blocking the American Civil Liberties Union from paying attorneys representing suspected terrorists held here, insisting that the ACLU must first receive a license from the U.S. Treasury Department before making the payments.

ACLU director Anthony Romero on Tuesday accused the Bush administration of “obstruction of justice” by delaying approval of the license, which the government argues is required under U.S. law because the beneficiaries of the lawyers’ services are foreign terrorists.

“Now the government is stonewalling again by not allowing Americans’ private dollars to be paid to American lawyers to defend civil liberties,” Romero said.

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Treasury Department spokesman John Rankin declined to comment on the showdown with the ACLU, citing privacy policies.

But he said the Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control “is treating this request with the seriousness it deserves and strives to process license applications as expeditiously as possible.”

OFAC is perhaps best known for enforcing regulations against Americans’ spending money in places like Cuba or North Korea. But OFAC also is responsible for making certain American funds aren’t sent to terrorist groups.

Full article here.

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